Minnesota (i/ˌmɪnᵻˈsoʊtə/; locally[ˌmɪnəˈso̞ɾɐ]) is a state in the midwestern and northern regions of the United States. Minnesota was admitted as the 32nd U.S. state on May 11, 1858, created from the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory. The state has a large number of lakes, and is known by the slogan "Land of 10,000 Lakes". Its official motto is L'Étoile du Nord (French: Star of the North).

Minnesota is the 12th largest in area and the 21st most populous of the U.S. states; nearly 60 percent of its residents live in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area (known as the "Twin Cities"), the center of transportation, business, industry, education, and government and home to an internationally known arts community. The remainder of the state consists of western prairies now given over to intensive agriculture; deciduous forests in the southeast, now partially cleared, farmed and settled; and the less populated North Woods, used for mining, forestry, and recreation.

Minnesota is known for its progressive political orientation and its high rate of civic participation and voter turnout. Until European settlement, Minnesota was inhabited by the Dakota and Ojibwe/Anishinaabe. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the large majority of the European settlers emigrated from Scandinavia and Germany, and the state remains a center of Scandinavian American and German American culture. In recent decades, immigration from Asia, the Horn of Africa, and Latin America has broadened its historic demographic and cultural composition. Minnesota's standard of living index is among the highest in the United States, and the state is also among the best-educated and wealthiest in the nation.[6]

Geology

Minnesota contains some of the oldest rocks found on earth, gneisses that are about 3.6 billion years old (80 percent as old as the planet).[15][16] About 2.7 billion years ago, basalticlava poured out of cracks in the floor of the primordial ocean; the remains of this volcanic rock formed the Canadian Shield in northeast Minnesota.[15][17] The roots of these volcanic mountains and the action of Precambrian seas formed the Iron Range of northern Minnesota. Following a period of volcanism 1.1 billion years ago, Minnesota's geological activity has been more subdued, with no volcanism or mountain formation, but with repeated incursions of the sea, which left behind multiple strata of sedimentary rock.[15]

In more recent times, massive ice sheets at least one kilometer thick ravaged the landscape of the state and sculpted its current terrain.[15] The Wisconsin glaciation left 12,000 years ago.[15] These glaciers covered all of Minnesota except the far southeast, an area characterized by steep hills and streams that cut into the bedrock. This area is known as the Driftless Zone for its absence of glacial drift.[18] Much of the remainder of the state outside the northeast has 50feet (15m) or more of glacial till left behind as the last glaciers retreated. Gigantic Lake Agassiz formed in the northwest 13,000 years ago. Its bed created the fertile Red River valley, and its outflow, glacial River Warren, carved the valley of the Minnesota River and the Upper Mississippi downstream from Fort Snelling.[15] Minnesota is geologically quiet today; it experiences earthquakes infrequently, and most of them are minor.[19]

The state's high point is Eagle Mountain at 2,301feet (701m), which is only 13 miles (21km) away from the low of 601feet (183m) at the shore of Lake Superior.[17][20] Notwithstanding dramatic local differences in elevation, much of the state is a gently rolling peneplain.[15]

The state's nickname, the "Land of 10,000 Lakes", is apt, as there are 11,842 Minnesota lakes over 10 acres (4ha) in size.[22] The Minnesota portion of Lake Superior is the largest at 962,700 acres (389,600ha; 3,896km2) and deepest (at 1,290ft (390m)) body of water in the state.[22] Minnesota has 6,564 natural rivers and streams that cumulatively flow for 69,000 miles (111,000km).[22] The Mississippi River begins its journey from its headwaters at Lake Itasca and crosses the Iowa border 680 miles (1,090km) downstream.[22] It is joined by the Minnesota River at Fort Snelling, by the St. Croix River near Hastings, by the Chippewa River at Wabasha, and by many smaller streams. The Red River, in the bed of glacial Lake Agassiz, drains the northwest part of the state northward toward Canada's Hudson Bay. Approximately 10.6million acres (4,300,000ha; 43,000km2) of wetlands are contained within Minnesota's borders, the most of any state except Alaska.[23]

Eagle Mountain, the highest natural point in Minnesota at 2,301 feet (701m) is located in northeastern part of the state.

Climate

Minnesota experiences temperature extremes characteristic of its continental climate, with cold winters and hot summers. The lowest temperature recorded was −60°F (−51°C) at Tower on February 2, 1996, whereas the highest was 114°F (46°C) at Moorhead on July 6, 1936.[31] Meteorological events include rain, snow, blizzards, thunderstorms, hail, derechos, tornadoes, and high-velocity straight-line winds. The growing season varies from 90 days per year in the Iron Range to 160 days in southeast Minnesota near the Mississippi River, and average temperatures range from 37 to 49°F (3 to 9°C).[32] Average summer dew points range from about 58°F (14°C) in the south to about 48°F (9°C) in the north.[32][33] Average annual precipitation ranges from 19 to 35 inches (48 to 89cm), and droughts occur every 10 to 50 years.[32]

Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures for selected cities in Minnesota[34]

In 1762 the region became part of Spanish Louisiana until 1802.[38][39] The portion of the state east of the Mississippi River became part of the United States at the end of the American Revolutionary War, when the Second Treaty of Paris was signed. Land west of the Mississippi River was acquired with the Louisiana Purchase, although a portion of the Red River Valley was disputed until the Treaty of 1818.[40] In 1805, Zebulon Pike bargained with Native Americans to acquire land at the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers. The construction of Fort Snelling followed between 1819 and 1825.[41] Its soldiers built a grist mill and a sawmill at Saint Anthony Falls, the first of the water-powered industries around which the city of Minneapolis later grew. Meanwhile, squatters, government officials, and tourists had settled near the fort. In 1839, the army forced them to move downriver and they settled in the area that became St. Paul.[42]Minnesota Territory was formed on March 3, 1849. The first territorial legislature (held September 2, 1849)[43] was dominated by men from New England or of New England ancestry.[44] Thousands of people had come to build farms and cut timber, and Minnesota became the 32nd U.S. state on May 11, 1858. The founding population was so overwhelmingly of New England origins that the state was dubbed "the New England of the West".[45][46][47][48]

Treaties between European settlers and the Dakota and Ojibwe gradually forced the natives off their lands and on to smaller reservations. In 1861, residents of Mankato formed the Knights of the Forest, with a goal of eliminating all Indians from Minnesota. As conditions deteriorated for the Dakota, tensions rose, leading to the Dakota War of 1862.[49] The result of the six-week war was the execution of 38 Dakota and the exile of most of the rest of the Dakota to the Crow Creek Reservation in Dakota Territory.[40] As many as 800 white settlers died during the war.[50]

Logging and farming were mainstays of Minnesota's early economy. The sawmills at Saint Anthony Falls, and logging centers like Marine on St. Croix, Stillwater, and Winona, processed high volumes of lumber. These cities were situated on rivers that were ideal for transportation.[40] Later, Saint Anthony Falls was tapped to provide power for flour mills. Innovations by Minneapolis millers led to the production of Minnesota "patent" flour, which commanded almost double the price of "bakers'" or "clear" flour, which it replaced.[51] By 1900, Minnesota mills, led by Pillsbury, Northwestern and the Washburn-Crosby Company (a forerunner of General Mills), were grinding 14.1 percent of the nation's grain.[52]

Industrial development and the rise of manufacturing caused the population to shift gradually from rural areas to cities during the early 20th century. Nevertheless, farming remained prevalent. Minnesota's economy was hard-hit by the Great Depression, resulting in lower prices for farmers, layoffs among iron miners, and labor unrest. Compounding the adversity, western Minnesota and the Dakotas were hit by drought from 1931 to 1935. New Deal programs provided some economic turnaround. The Civilian Conservation Corps and other programs around the state established some jobs for Indians on their reservations, and the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 provided the tribes with a mechanism of self-government. This provided natives a greater voice within the state, and promoted more respect for tribal customs because religious ceremonies and native languages were no longer suppressed.[41]

After World War II, industrial development quickened. New technology increased farm productivity through automation of feedlots for hogs and cattle, machine milking at dairy farms, and raising chickens in large buildings. Planting became more specialized with hybridization of corn and wheat, and the use of farm machinery such as tractors and combines became the norm. University of Minnesota professor Norman Borlaug contributed to these developments as part of the Green Revolution.[41]Suburban development accelerated due to increased postwar housing demand and convenient transportation. Increased mobility, in turn, enabled more specialized jobs.[41]

Saint Paul is adjacent to Minnesota's most populous city, Minneapolis; they and their suburbs are known collectively as the Twin Citiesmetropolitan area, the 13th-largest metropolitan area in the United States and home to about 60 percent of the state's population.[54][55] The remainder of the state is known as "Greater Minnesota" or "Outstate Minnesota".

Minnesota's population continues to grow, primarily in the urban centers. The populations of metropolitan Sherburne and Scott counties doubled between 1980 and 2000, while 40 of the state's 87 counties lost residents over the same period.[56]

Demographics

Population

Minnesota's population distribution

From fewer than 6,120 people in 1850, Minnesota's population grew to over 1.7million by 1900. Each of the next six decades saw a 15 percent increase in population, reaching 3.4million in 1960. Growth then slowed, rising 11 percent to 3.8million in 1970, and an average of 9 percent over the next three decades to 4.9million in the 2000 Census.[56] The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Minnesota was 5,489,594 on July 1, 2015, a 3.5 percent increase since the 2010 United States Census.[57] The rate of population change, and age and gender distributions, approximate the national average. Minnesota's center of population is in Hennepin County.[58]

In 2011, non-Hispanic whites were involved in 72.3 percent of all the births.[60] Minnesota's growing minority groups, however, still form a smaller percentage of the population than in the nation as a whole.[61]

The principal ancestries of Minnesota's residents in 2010 were surveyed to be the following:[62]

Industry and commerce

Minnesota's earliest industries were fur trading and agriculture. The city of Minneapolis grew around the flour mills powered by St. Anthony Falls. Although less than one percent of the population is now employed in the agricultural sector,[80] it remains a major part of the state's economy, ranking sixth in the nation in the value of products sold.[81] The state is the U.S.'s largest producer of sugar beets, sweet corn, and green peas for processing, and farm-raised turkeys. Minnesota is also a large producer of corn and soybeans.[82] Minnesota has the most food cooperatives per capita in the United States.[83]Forestry remains strong, including logging, pulpwood processing and paper production, and forest products manufacturing. Minnesota was famous for its soft-ore mines, which produced a significant portion of the world's iron ore for over a century. Although the high-grade ore is now depleted, taconite mining continues, using processes developed locally to save the industry. In 2004, the state produced 75 percent of the country's usable iron ore.[82] The mining boom created the port of Duluth which continues to be important for shipping ore, coal, and agricultural products. The manufacturing sector now includes technology and biomedical firms in addition to the older food processors and heavy industry. The nation's first indoor shopping mall was Edina'sSouthdale Center and its largest is Bloomington'sMall of America.

Energy use and production

Minnesota produces ethanol fuel and is the first to mandate its use, a ten percent mix (E10).[84] In 2005 there were more than 310 service stations supplying E85 fuel, comprising 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.[85] A two percent biodiesel blend has been required in diesel fuel since 2005. As of December 2006 the state was the country's fourth-largest producer of wind power, with 895megawatts installed and another 200megawatts planned, much of it on the windy Buffalo Ridge in the southwest part of the state.[86]

State taxes

Minnesota has a progressive income tax structure; the four brackets of state income tax rates are 5.35, 7.05, 7.85 and 9.85 percent.[87] As of 2008, Minnesota was ranked 12th in the nation in per capita total state and local taxes.[88] In 2008, Minnesotans paid 10.2 percent of their income in state and local taxes; the U.S. average was 9.7 percent.[88] The state sales tax in Minnesota is 6.875 percent, but there is no sales tax on clothing, prescription drug medications, some services, or food items for home consumption.[89] The state legislature may allow municipalities to institute local sales taxes and special local taxes, such as the 0.5 percent supplemental sales tax in Minneapolis.[90]Excise taxes are levied on alcohol, tobacco, and motor fuel. The state imposes a use tax on items purchased elsewhere but used within Minnesota.[89] Owners of real property in Minnesota pay property tax to their county, municipality, school district, and special taxing districts.

The Minnesota State Fair, advertised as The Great Minnesota Get-Together, is an icon of state culture. In a state of 5.4 million people, there were over 1.8 million visitors to the fair in 2014, setting a new attendance record.[94] The fair covers the variety of Minnesotan life, including fine art, science, agriculture, food preparation, 4-H displays, music, the midway, and corporate merchandising. It is known for its displays of seed art, butter sculptures of dairy princesses, the birthing barn, and the "fattest pig" competition. One can also find dozens of varieties of food on a stick, such as Pronto Pups, cheese curds, and deep-fried candy bars. On a smaller scale, many of these attractions are offered at numerous county fairs.

Health

Minnesotans have low rates of premature death, infant mortality, cardiovascular disease, and occupational fatalities.[95][96] They have long life expectancies,[97] and high rates of health insurance and regular exercise.[95][98][99] These and other measures have led two groups to rank Minnesota as the healthiest state in the nation; however, in one of these rankings, Minnesota descended from first to sixth in the nation between 2005 and 2009 because of low levels of public health funding and the prevalence of binge drinking.[95][100]

On October 1, 2007, Minnesota became the 17th state to enact the Freedom to Breathe Act, a statewide smoking ban in restaurants and bars.[101]

U.S. News and World Report's 2014–2015 survey ranked 4,743 hospitals in the United States in 16 specialized fields of care, and placed the Mayo Clinic in the top four in all fields except psychiatry, where it ranked seventh. The hospital ranked #1 in eight fields and #2 in three others.[105] The Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota are partners in the Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics, a state-funded program that conducts research into cancer, Alzheimer's disease, heart health, obesity, and other areas.[106]

One of the Minnesota Legislature's first acts when it opened in 1858 was the creation of a normal school in Winona. Minnesota's commitment to education has contributed to a literate and well-educated populace. In 2009, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Minnesota had the second-highest proportion of high school graduates, with 91.5% of people 25 and older holding a diploma, and the tenth-highest proportion of people with bachelor's degrees.[107] In 2015, Minneapolis was named the nation's "Most Literate City", while St. Paul placed fourth, according to a major annual survey.[108] In a 2013 study conducted by the National Center for Educational Statistics comparing the performance of eighth-grade students internationally in math and science, Minnesota ranked eighth in the world and third in the United States, behind Massachusetts and Vermont.[109] In 2014, Minnesota students earned the tenth-highest average composite score in the nation on the ACT exam.[110] In 2013, nationwide in per-student public education spending, Minnesota ranked 21st.[111] While Minnesota has chosen not to implement school vouchers,[112] it is home to the first charter school.[113]

Legislature

The Minnesota Legislature is a bicameral body consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The state has sixty-seven districts, each covering about sixty thousand people. Each district has one senator and two representatives (each district being divided into A and B sections). Senators serve for four years and representatives for two years. In the November 2010 election, the Minnesota Republican Party gained twenty-five house seats, giving them control of the House of Representatives by a 72-62 margin.[122] The 2010 election also saw Minnesota voters elect a Republican majority in the Senate for the first time since 1972. In 2012, the Democrats regained the House of Representatives by a margin of 73-61, picking up 11 seats; the Democrats also regained the Minnesota Senate.

Tribal

The State of Minnesota was created by the US out of the homelands of the Dakota and Anishinaabe native peoples. Today the remaining native governments are divided into 11 semi-autonomous reservations that negotiate with the US and the state on a peer nation-to-nation basis:

Hubert Humphrey brought national attention to the state with his address at the 1948 Democratic National Convention. Minnesotans have consistently cast their Electoral College votes for Democratic presidential candidates since 1976, longer than any other state. Minnesota is the only state in the nation that did not vote for Ronald Reagan in either of his presidential runs. Minnesota has gone to the Democratic Party in every presidential election since 1960, with the exception of 1972, when it was carried by Richard Nixon and the Republican Party.

Both the Democratic and Republican parties have major party status in Minnesota, but its state-level "Democratic" party is actually a separate party, officially known as the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL). Formed out of a 1944 alliance of the Minnesota Democratic and Farmer-Labor parties, its distinction from the national Democratic Party, while still official, is now but a technicality.

The state has had active third party movements. The Reform Party, now the Independence Party, was able to elect former mayor of Brooklyn Park and professional wrestlerJesse Ventura to the governorship in 1998. The Independence Party has received enough support to keep major party status. The Green Party, while no longer having major party status, has a large presence in municipal government,[131] notably in Minneapolis and Duluth, where it competes directly with the DFL party for local offices. Official "Major party" status in Minnesota (which grants state funding for elections) is reserved to parties whose candidates receive five percent or more of the vote in any statewide election (e.g., Governor, Secretary of State, U.S. President).

The state's U.S. Senate seats have generally been split since the early 1990s, and in the 108th and 109th Congresses, Minnesota's congressional delegation was split, with four representatives and one senator from each party. In the 2006 midterm election, Democrats were elected to all state offices except for governor and lieutenant governor, where Republicans Tim Pawlenty and Carol Molnau narrowly won reelection. The DFL also posted double-digit gains in both houses of the legislature, elected Amy Klobuchar to the U.S. Senate, and increased the party's U.S. House caucus by one. Keith Ellison(DFL) was elected as the first African American U.S. Representative from Minnesota as well as the first Muslim elected to Congress nationwide.[132] In 2008 DFLer and former comedian and radio talk show host Al Franken beat incumbent Republican Norm Coleman in the United States Senate race by 312 votes out of 3 million cast.

In the election of 2010, Republicans took control of both chambers of the Minnesota legislature for the first time in 38 years, and with Mark Dayton's election the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party took the governor's office for the first time in 20 years. Two years later, the DFL regained control of both houses, and with Governor Dayton in office, the party has same-party control of both the legislative and executive branches for the first time since 1990. Two years later, the Republicans regained control of the Minnesota House in the 2014 election.[133]

Sports, recreation and tourism

Minnesota has a very active program of organized amateur and professional sports. Tourism has become an important industry, especially in the Lake region. In the North Country, what had been an industrial area focused on mining and timber has largely been transformed into a vacation destination. Popular interest in the environment and environmentalism, added to traditional interests in hunting and fishing, has attracted a large urban audience within driving range.[139]

Outdoor recreation

The common loon's distinctive cry is heard during the summer months on lakes throughout the state.[145]

Minnesotans participate in high levels of physical activity,[146] and many of these activities are outdoors. The strong interest of Minnesotans in environmentalism has been attributed to the popularity of these pursuits.[147]

In the warmer months, these activities often involve water. Weekend and longer trips to family cabins on Minnesota's numerous lakes are a way of life for many residents. Activities include water sports such as water skiing, which originated in the state,[148]boating, canoeing, and fishing. More than 36 percent of Minnesotans fish, second only to Alaska.[149]